Cathedral organisation

The Cathedral community is made up of a wide range of people, and is organised through a range of formal and informal structures. This includes members of regular congregation who worship with us on a daily and weekly basis, our paid staff, our volunteers who come from across the city and the Diocese, our singers and musicians and external partners.

The national church sets out the formal mechanisms which are required for the management of the Cathedral. This is set out in the Care of Cathedral's Measure 1999. They include the following:

Cathedral Council - The Council is responsible for furthering and supporting the work of the Cathedral, “spiritual, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical, reviewing and advising upon the direction and oversight of that work by the Chapter” (Cathedral Statutes, 2001). The Council consists of up to twenty members, with a chair person appointed by the Bishop. Members are drawn from the Cathedral congregation, the Chapter, the College of Canons, the Diocesan Synod, and the Diocese and wider community. They meet to discuss progress on key projects, and receive the annual report and accounts each year.

College of Canons - The College is made up of 40 clerical and lay representatives from the Cathedral and the wider diocese . They meet to discuss progress on key projects, and receive the annual report and accounts each year.

Chapter
The Chapter is the main body responsible for the direction and oversight of the Cathedral, and is made up of the Dean, the three residentiary Canons, and four lay non-residentiary members. The clerical representatives are appointed, after consultation, by the Crown, and the lay representatives are appointed, after consultation, by the Bishop. The lay canons hold office for three-year terms, which are renewable. The Chapter is required to meet at least nine times a year, and its main role is to “order the worship and promote the mission of the Cathedral” (Cathedral Statutes, 2001). The main responsibilities of the Chapter are:

To articulate the Cathedral’s priorities and to formulate appropriate plans for their delivery.

To oversee the management of the Cathedral’s assets and investments, and ensure that all necessary repair, maintenance and development works to the fabric and precincts are carried out.

To oversee the management of the Cathedral and to make sure appropriate policies and processes are in place for child protection, health and safety, HR and other issues.

To oversee the preparation of an annual budget and an annual report and audited accounts.

To monitor and evaluate the performance of the Cathedral.

To review the Constitution and Statutes.

There are two standing committees that report to the Chapter on finance and fabric matters. The Cathedral also retains the service of a Cathedral Architect and Cathedral Archaeologist to support our work on the fabric. There is also a Cathedral Assistant Archivist and Historian.

Each year the Cathedral publishes its Annual Report and Accounts, which are lodged with the Charity Commission and Church Commissioners. Download our 2017 annual report and accountshere.

In 2017 the Bishop of Stepney was asked to chair a review into Cathedral governance, called the Cathedrals Working Group. The interim report was published in December 2017 and the Dean and Chapter submitted a formal response to the consultation in February 2018. For further information click here.